1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to avionics systems and more particularly to an improved wireless architecture for interconnecting data concentration components.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern onboard avionics networks serve to provide data transfer between various components of an aircraft. Avionics systems typically have a variety of systems that provide data to processing components of the aircraft or exchange data among one or more components of the aircraft. For example, a variety of avionics modules may gather avionics data (e.g., sensors detecting speed, direction, external temperature, control surface positions, and the like) that is routed by the avionics system via an avionics network to one or more aircraft components such as displays, monitoring circuits, processors, and the like.
In some aircraft systems, the avionics network may be constructed with an Aeronautical Radio INC. (ARINC) 429 data bus capable of supporting communication between many components. More recently, Ethernet networks have been used in avionic network environments by leveraging Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) technology to increase bandwidth and reduce cost.
Ethernet type networks have been used in communication networks for implementing communication among various network components. An Ethernet network may be used to send or route data in a digital form by packets or frames. Each packet contains a set of data, and the packet is generally not interpreted while sent through the Ethernet network. In an avionics network environment, the Ethernet network typically has different components that subscribe to the avionics network and connect to each other through switches. Each network subscriber can send packets in digital form, at controlled rates, to one or more other subscribers. When a switch receives the packets, the switch determines the destination equipment and directs or switches the packets to such equipment.
Such Ethernet networks may include ARINC-664 based networks. In a switched full-duplex Ethernet type network, the term “full-duplex” refers to sending and receiving packets at the same time on the same link, and the term “switched” refers to the packets being switched in switches on appropriate outputs. However, the ARINC-664 network uses multiple switches and redundant paths to route data, point-to-point or point-to-multipoint across the switches. Typically, remote data concentrators are connected using a wired ARINC-664 network.
Current Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) architectures are reliant on data concentrators to bring the aircraft system I/O into the IMA system. The data concentrators are located remotely within the aircraft to reduce the wire weight of the system. Typically they are connected by the IMA backbone bus. Some of the locations of the remote data concentrators (RDC's) are a very hostile environment or the backbone bus wire needs to travel through the hostile environment to get to the RDC.
These difficult installations could benefit from a wireless link to/from the IMA backbone bus.
There are patents that have issued that have involved details of the reconfiguration of the data on a bus, but not the bus structure or path. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,421,526, issued to Fletcher et al, entitled “Reconfigurable Virtual Backplane Architecture” discloses a communication network that comprises a communication bus and at least two line cards. Each of the line cards are coupled to the communication bus. The line cards comprise a processor and a configuration memory coupled to the processor. The communication occurring on the communication bus is predetermined, but can be reconfigured during real time operation by events or by the addition or subtraction of line cards. The configuration memory comprises an array of configuration tables, each configuration table storing a listing of processes to run and data to be transmitted or received by the process. A current configuration table is selected from the array of configuration tables upon the occurrence of a predefined event.
U.S. Publication No. 20080217471, entitled “Intelligent Aircraft Secondary Power Distribution System That Facilitates Condition Based Maintenance” discloses an electrical power distribution system that comprises a solid state power controller in communication with an aircraft system main data bus via a gateway module and a condition based maintenance module in communication with the solid state power controller via a communication network distinct from the main data bus. A method of load/feeder health assessment for an electrical power distribution system includes applying a controlled excitation to a load; sampling information from the load/feeder system for the load; characterizing a normal behavior of the load/feeder system for the load; determining if the load characteristics are within the normal behavior profile for the load; and shutting down power to the load if load characteristics are not within the profile when immediate action is indicated or generating a health message for the load when immediate action is not required. The '471 publication does not discuss a network.